I can't tell you how many times I've woken up in the middle of the night with Miss Riley standing at the side of my bed staring at me, patiently waiting for me to take her to the bathroom. She never says a word, but rustles around until I groggily ask her what's wrong. Somehow I've managed NOT to scream out in holy terror.

The 4:30 a.m. bathroom runs got really old fast so I have started getting Riley up and taking her to the bathroom before I go to bed. This has quickly become one of my favorite parts of my nightly routine.

Because no matter how whiny the girls might have been that day, all the stress has rolled off my back by the time I lift my sweet girl from underneath her warm, cozy blankets and carry her sleep-heavy body to the bathroom. She always wraps her arms around me and snuggles her head right in my neck just like she did when she was a baby. I get to tuck her back in and give her another hug and kiss and a whisper of sweet dreams before crawling into bed myself. Such a nice way to end the night.

Hosted by Cecily

I always look forward to picking up the girls from preschool and looking at their crafts and "school work" they have accomplished for the day. With all of the holiday projects that came home, the inside of my car looks like a bottle of glitter threw up all over it because the more glitter the better in the girl's eyes.

I have been thrilled to see the girls beginning to write some of their letters and learning how to write their names. Alyssa and Riley practice writing regularly.....Makena not so much. She hasn't shown as much interest but I'm hopeful she'll turn the corner soon.

It has also made me realize why some parents choose simple names like Amy, Sam or Pat for their children. Much easier to learn how to write!

I know when Steve and I were picking out names, I always tried to come up with the possible nicknames that the rotten kids at school would come up with if we made the wrong choice.


Today, I realized that I never gave much thought to what the girl's names would spell if they were written backwards. A-S-S-Y-L-A (ALYSSA) helped us out by showing us what her name spells. I got a good laugh on the drive home. Don't I feel like an ass.

Hosted by Cecily and Michelle

Four years ago, my life was a frenzy of bottle feedings, diaper changes, and baby juggling. It was a blur. I often get asked how we managed and honestly, it's hard to remember. We just did it and didn't know anything different.

I miss those teeny babies. I miss the eat-feed-sleep-pump schedule that we lived by. I miss their sweet-smelling skin and tiny perfect feet.

I love looking back at pictures like this one and remembering that time when I felt so truly amazed and lucky that I was a mom.

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At almost 4 1/2 years old, my girls are still fabulous nappers. It's genetic. At almost 35 years old, I am a fabulous napper too! However, over the Christmas holiday it became more and more apparent that if the girls took their afternoon nap, their 8:00 bedtime stretched into a 9:30 bedtime. This worked perfectly fine for us when we didn't have any alarm clocks waking us up in the morning.

Now that work and preschool are back in the mix, we've begun a painful new routine on Sundays which involves NO NAP so that the girls go right to sleep at bedtime and are fairly bright-eyed when I wake them up for preschool on Monday morning. There really is no "routine" to our Sundays other than think of every possible way to keep the girls happily occupied and not clawing each others eyes out so that everyone survives and mommy doesn't start drinking at noon just to maintain a little sanity.

Bedtime for the girls is at 7:00 on Sunday.

Since today is a holiday...it is our Sunday. The girls are happily occupied watching their Tinkerbell movie as I type. Next up is a game of Candyland (insert maniacal laughter here). Playing a game of Candyland with three 4-year olds can be about as fun as poking your own eye out with a pencil. I'll try my best not to fall asleep sitting up as we play because I missed my nap today too.

Only three hours until bedtime. But who's counting?

I have been ready for a change in my blog layout for awhile now and finally got around to finding someone to help me do it. Thanks to Hilary at ScrapBlog Designs we are all hooked up with a fresh new look.

I think it looks fantastic and hope you like it too! Hilary made this whole process very easy and her pricing is affordable. I highly recommend her if you are looking for a "facelift" on your own blog.

2009- Makena, 4 years old

1979-1980 ish, My 4 year old self



And at the tender age of 4, we both wanted nothing more than to be just like a hot, blonde television star.

Makena would love nothing more than to sing on a big stage with her favorite character Quinn from Glee. Rest assured that the girls aren't watching Glee at their age, but we DVR the shows and play just the singing parts that are kid-friendly.

I wanted nothing more except to be the ditzy blonde Chrissy Snow from my favorite show Three's Company. I just couldn't get enough of her snorting laugh.

And then she goes in for an outfit change and looks like a mismatched tourist.

At least she's keepin' it real.

P.E.A.C.E. Out!


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Christmas vacation is over and I have to go back to work tomorrow. Sigh. I should be in bed already, but it seems that it will take a few days to break my vacation bedtime which was usually between midnight and 1:00 a.m. Instead of sleeping, I'm blogging, photo editing, updating my ipod and will end the night reading in bed. Hmmmm....I only have to be up in 7-ish hours.

The girl's sleep schedule also took a beating. They have quickly adjusted to staying up later than usual and going to bed so tired they can't keep their eyes open. Their regular 8:00 bedtime was hard for them tonight. Alyssa was still awake staring at her ceiling at 10:00. By 10:00, Makena and Riley had finally fallen asleep after I had made multiple trips into their bedrooms listening to their complaints about not being able to fall asleep. Makena decided to strip off her jammies somewhere between my last trip to her room and falling asleep, so I have a bazillion blankets piled on her in an attept to keep her covered up.

I can see tired and cranky kids in my future. I think tomorrow is gonna be a LONG day.